Method of making shoes, sandals, and the like.



A. B. EA$TWOOD. METHOD OF MAKING SHOES, SANDALS, AND THE LIKE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 5, 1904,

948,300. Patented Feb. 1, 1910.

Witnesses.

Inventor- Attorney- 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

. A. B. EASTWOOD. METHOD OF MAKING SHOES, SANDALS, AND THE LIKE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 5, 1904.

948,300. Patented Fb.1,1910.

2 SHDETS-SHEET 2.

n W1tnesses. 7 Inventor- Attorney made; Fig. 2

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT B. EASTWOOD, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM EASTWOOD 8a SON (10., OF ROCHESTER, NEW'YOR-K, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

METHOD OF MAKING SHOES, SANDALS, AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 1, 1910.

Application filed May 5, 1904. Serial No. 296,452.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT'B. EASTWOOD, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Making Shoes, Sandals, and the Llke; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descri )tion of the same, reference being had to t e accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the reference characters marked thereon.

My present invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of shoes, and is more especially applicable to the manufacture of sandals, slippers and other comparatively light foot coverings, and it has for its object to simplify and facilitate the method of manufacturing such articles, as well as to produce an improved article that will present a neat and attractive appearance and possess the maximum strength and durability in articles of this class; and to these and other ends my said invention consists in certain improvements to be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims hereunto annexed.

In the drawings:Figure 1 is a view showing the blanks from which a sandal embodying my invention is adapted to be is a perspective'view of a to which the blanks have Fig. 3 is a sectional view forming block showing the blanks in position preparatory to receiving the last; Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the last in position and the blanks formed into their ultimate shape to form the vamp and counter of the upper. Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view through the upper and the last illustrating the manner of applying the sole; and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a completed sandal manufactured in accordance with my invention.

In these views similar parts are desig-' nated by the same characters of reference.

In the present embodiment of my invention I have illustrated and described it as applied to a sandal or similar covering for the foot, and in the present form thereof I prefer to produce'the upper from a blank 1 to form the vamp thereof, and the blank 2 to form the counter, as such an arrangement will facilitate the manufacture and reduce forming block been applied; through the lady-shaped last is forced into the waste of material from .which these blanks are cut, although they may both be formed if desired of a single blank. These blanks may be readilystamped from leather of-the desired thickness, and they conform with patterns the outlines of which correspond approximately to the size and shape of the vamp and counter respectively of the upper. Each blank thus formed is thoroughly soaked and dampened and then secured in the forming block A by tacking or otherwise securing the edge of the blank around the periphery of the aperture a of the block, the relative arrangement of the vamp and counter within the aperture being such that the meeting edges of the component members of the upper will closely contact, stitching'being advantageously employed if desiredfor temporarily retaining them in such a relation.

As the component parts of the upper in the form of blanks are cut to the proper patterns and have their edges immovably sec'ured to the face of the forming block around the margin of the aperture, the

blanks for the vamp and counter will be.

fulled so as to extend. loosely across the aperture of said block in approximately the shape of the upper, thus providing sufficient material at the various parts of the upper which will insure a uniform tension upon every part of the material as the irreguposition thereby avoiding unequal I or injurious stretching of the leather. While the blanks are still in a dampened condition, the last B which is of the desired configuration and dimensions is introduced into the aperture of the block, and as it is forced into position under pressure, the heel portion thereof will enter'the counter blank and press it against the rear and adjacent lateral walls of the aperture until it assumes a contour corresponding to that of the last; at the same time theforward portion of the last will engage the vamp blank, and as the .last is hammered or otherwise forced into position, the toe and instep portions of the upper will gradually assume their proper configuration. During this operation it may be found advantageous to employ a block having the movable side portion A which is hinged to the block and adapted to be drawn up by the thumb screw B after the last has passed the overhanging edges 6 b of the block to facilitate the insertion of the last and to insure the proper shaping of the upper adjacent the sole. When the last has been thus forced into position so that the sole thereof is flush with the corresponding edges of the blanks, a continuous overhanging outwardly flaring edge 3 will be formed upon the latter, from which the tracks are removed, and while the last still remains in position, a S0164 of the proper configuration and dimensions is cemented to this outwardly flaring edge, and the uppers and the sole with the last inclosed within them may be removed from the block and allowed to stand until the leather of the uppers .has become In order to reinforce and strengthen the connection between the sole and uppers, in addition to cementing them, the overhanging edge of the uppers may be stitched down to the sole by the well known Goodyear shoe sewing machine, after which operation the last may be removed and the shoe or sandal finished up in the usual manner, the periphery of the sole and the adjacent edge of the uppers being trimmed evenly and the remainder of the shoe or sandal completed in any manner desired.

In manufacturing a sandal in accordance with my improved method, I prefer to form a plurality of radially-disposed slits 5 in the toe portion of the blank which is to form the vamp for facilitating the shaping of the toe portion'of the vamp, and for asimilar purose, and for the purpose of affording ventiation to the foot of the wearer, apertures or cut-away ortions 66, and 7'7 may be similarly ormed in the vamp in proximity to the instep portion thereof, leaving the rearwardl extending strap 8 the rear extremity of which is perforated to receive the fastening strap 9 which connects the opposite sides of the counter and is secured by a buckle or other securing device 10.

The herein described method of manufac turing sandals and other foot coverings eliminates the necessity of molding or otherwise treating the material, thereby materially facilitating and cheapening the cost of production, and by securing the sole and uppers in the manner hereinbefore described,

an article of this class is produced possessing the maximum strength and durability, and presenting a neat and attractive appearance; and while this method is particularly useful in the manufacture of sandals, slippreferably of a depth corresponding approximately to thethickness of the leather composing the upper, for the reason that the operator may expeditiously insert and secure the corresponding edgeof the blank within the channel which will act as a gage to facilitate the manufacture; but it will be understood thatithis channel is not essential and may be omitted if desired.

I claim as my invention:

1. The herein described improvement in the manufacture-of shoes, sandals or the like which consists in forming an upper with an ,outline substantially the same as that which it will have in the finished shoe, fulling the upper within the forming block to proximate its finished shape, rigidly securing its edges, and forcing a last into the same.

2. The hereindescribed improvement in the manufacture of shoes, sandals or the like, which consists in providing an upper having substantially the per and radial slits near the toe portion thereof, fulling the upper within a forming block to approximate its finished shape, rigidly securing its edges, forcing the last into the same and securing the sole to the outwardly turned edges.

3. The herein described improvement in the manufacture of shoes, sandals and the like which consists in forming the vamp and the counter separately from patterns, the outlines of which correspond approximately to the size and she e of the finished upper, providing radial shts in the toe portion of the vamp, fulling the upper within a forming block to approximate its finished shape, rigidly securing its edges, and forcing the last into the fulled upper.

ALBERT B. AsTwoon Witnesses:

G. WILLARD Riorr,

CLARENCE A. BATEMAN.

out-line of the finished up i 

